In recent months, a wave of right-wing leaders across Latin America has embraced tough-on-crime strategies inspired by El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele, who has gained regional attention for drastically reducing violence through large-scale incarcerations and a broad crackdown on gangs. Bukele, who took office in 2019, has overseen a reported 95 percent drop in homicides, according to official statistics, by detaining tens of thousands of people in mass trials and expanding the country’s prison infrastructure.
This approach has resonated with new and incoming presidents in the region. In Brazil, Flávio Bolsonaro, son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, visited El Salvador as he prepared his presidential campaign, drawing directly from Bukele’s policies. Flávio Bolsonaro’s platform includes proposals for new maximum-security prisons, harsh sentences for cellphone theft, and chemical castration for sexual offenders. He recently won the first round of Brazil’s election and is favored in the runoff, potentially continuing a trend of eight consecutive right-wing leaders elected in Latin America over the past year and a half.
Similar tactics are emerging elsewhere. Leaders in Colombia, Ecuador, Costa Rica, and Peru have adopted elements of Bukele’s blueprint, including the construction of large prisons and the use of social media to promote their anti-crime efforts while demonizing alleged gang members. Notably, dozens of officials from various countries have visited Bukele’s 40,000-capacity prison seeking to bolster their own crime-fighting credentials. At least eight countries in the region are reportedly planning their own maximum-security prison projects.
Bukele’s model represents a departure from previous drug war strategies in Latin America. Rather than focusing on dismantling kingpin networks using military force, Bukele has pursued mass detentions and centralized control, often under states of emergency that suspend constitutional rights. His government has pushed for legal reforms allowing life sentences for juveniles as young as 12 and routinely conducts group trials with anonymous witnesses. This has resulted in El Salvador having one of the highest incarceration rates worldwide.
Critics and human rights groups warn that these measures involve significant erosions of democratic norms and civil liberties. Scholars note that while Bukele’s style—a modern iteration of the Latin American strongman or caudillo—has yielded a dramatic drop in crime and earned him high popularity ratings, the long-term consequences may be negative. Dismantling judicial independence, restricting press freedom, and sidelining opposition have accompanied his crackdown, raising concerns about authoritarianism.
Supporters point to the improved security and increased public safety as evidence of the effectiveness of these methods. With murder rates falling to levels lower than in countries such as the United States, many Salvadorans say they feel safer than they have in decades, and tourism has begun to recover.
The growing adoption of this “Bukeleization” of public security reflects underlying challenges faced by Latin American states in addressing endemic violence and crime. While the outcomes in terms of homicide reduction are significant, questions remain about the impact on human rights, governance, and the sustainability of such policies across diverse political and social contexts in the region.